Hybrid View

Advice on skates - is anyone familiar with the GAM Podium skates?

Hello everyone,
So... an update for those of you who know, and for those who don't - I'm now skating again after a 12 year brake. I'm doing pretty good, still getting dizzy on the spins but can hold the regular upright (like 15 rev.) and the sit spin (9 rev.) okay. Also, I can do all single jumps through Lutz, combinations and should finally move up from my Reidel 115 skates to something more advanced. Mostly because I'm uncomfortable - I need some serious padding in there. So I looked up a few and they were all like 400$ just the boots and then at least another 150$ for the blades and I'm kind of on a low budget. So finally I found the GAM Podium G0057 that are 279$ including Ultima Aspire blades (with straight toe picks). If you've tried them or even if you haven't but can give me some advice, please, tell me what you think. Note that I can't try them on first because they're obviously not sold in Israel... which is mainly why I'm asking.

They are only rated at a firmness of 50. If you are already have all your singles and are skating a couple or more times a week, they are not going to be useful for very long.

Have you checked on Ebay? I was able to find good skates very cheap on Ebay (1st ones are a newer model of Jackson Elite Plus that weren't even fully broken in, for $159; the 2nd ones which I put figure blades on, are an older model Jackson Elite Plus broken in but still good, for only $89. I also got a pair of barely used Gold Test figures blades for only 99 cents (which I put on the 2nd pair of JE+s).

99 cents? no wayyyy I'll check that out.
But if I do buy new ones, considering my low budget, don't you think they're OK? Their stiffness rating is 55 (I don't know how much of a difference that makes) and the thing is I don't know about how much better I'm going to get. I'm a 24 year old student and I only skate once a week. HOPEFULLY sometime in the future I'll be able to land Axels and a couple of double jumps again. Considering the fact I now skate in very beginner skates, it'll be a big improvement.

Based on what I have been reading, at your level a firmness of around 65 or 75 is recommended for an adult. The 55 firmness is recommended for a child of that level. Of course your body weight figures in, so if you are lighter you will be easier on the boots. Skating once a week is not going to be enough if you are planning to advance past your previous level.

I definitely understand your situation, though, because I was going to have to do a downgrade if I bought skates brand new. I was not an Ebay shopper before, but was feeling kind of desperate, not being able to imagine myself in a downgraded boot. If you don't see anything on there at first, just re-look every couple of days. Rushing into a downgrade when there might be another option is probably not the most cost-efficient thing to do.

I know once a week isn't much. I'm not counting on those double jumps... I just have school and the rink is over an hour away...
As for the stiffness, I'm hardly 5 ft tall and about 100 pounds so what ratings do you recommend for me?
Right now, any decent skate would be an upgrade =)
Thank you

I'm not real familiar with the Gam line but those look to be the equivalent of the Jackson Competitor, and at your level I'd definitely suggest something a little stiffer or even with skating once a week you'll be needing new skates well within a year. Basically, they would probably work fine for you now, but they probably won't last very long.